Avad
Avad is the 14th Sun-King of the Carja tribe. He killed his father, the 13th Sun-King Jiran, after becoming appalled by his father's brutal reign and his role in the Red Raids. Avad seeks to reform the Carja and rule his kingdom with a fair and kinder hand. History During the Red Raids, Avad was wary of his father's commitment to human sacrifices. He became interested in a prisoner taken from the Red Raids, a fierce Oseram woman named Ersa who had managed to prevent herself from being sacrificed after surviving in the Sun-Ring. For her actions, she was made a palace slave. Avad befriended Ersa and helped her to escape back to her homeland. Avad's shaky relationship with his father soon ended in bloodshed when his eldest brother, Kadaman, was executed for demanding an end to Jiran's Red Raids. Finally realizing his father must be stopped, Avad and his loyal soldiers fled from Meridian and traveled to Oseram lands in search of allies. Avad reunited with Ersa and through her help managed to acquire Oseram warlords and Freebooters to form a warband to overthrow Jiran. Furthermore, Avad planned to avoid a drawn-out war between the Carja and Oseram by using his status as the rightful heir to the throne of the Sun to inspire his people to rebel. After months of preparation, Avad and his allies marched on Meridian. Choosing to limit the damage to the city, Avad had some of his forces infiltrate Meridian while destroying the outer walls and city gates with cannon fire. Avad's plan worked, as Jiran's forces were thrown into chaos and Avad managed to captured the city. Avad then personally confronted his father and tried to convince him to surrender peacefully. Jiran refused and Avad reluctantly slew him. After becoming the 14th Sun-King, Avad began a program of extensive reforms throughout the Sundom. He abolished slavery, ended the human sacrifice to the Sun, mandated the elimination of all gender discrimination in Carja institutions (such as the armed forces and the Hunters Lodge), and welcomed all foreigners to Meridian. He also made the Oseram Freebooters from his rebellion into his personal Vanguard, with Ersa as their Captain. Avad and Ersa also began an affair, which they both kept secret, since Avad feared that the Carja nobility (who were very reticent to accept his end to tribal discrimination) would rebel if it became public knowledge that the King was involved with an Oseram woman, nor would the Oseram accept the relationship. Meeting Aloy Three years into his reign, Avad was approached by Aloy, a former outcast turned Seeker of the Nora tribe, who had come to Meridian investigating an attack on her people. Personality Avad is a reasonable and generally benevolent man, much unlike his father Jiran. He strives to unite all tribes in harmony, as well as reform the Carja into a more equal society. Despite his grand goals and achievements, Avad is a somewhat meek man, responding shyly to praise and seeking to find compromises that benefit as many people as possible in order to avoid making enemies. He also seems to be attracted to strong, dominant women, as evidenced by his passionate love for (and secret affair with) Ersa, as well as his attraction to Aloy. Despite Avad's grand ambitions, he understands that "change won't come in a single sunrise", and that fulfilling his goals will take time. Category:Sun-Kings Category:Allies Category:Human Characters